Overview

In 1400 Europe was behind large parts of the world in its understanding of the use of maps. For instance, the people gf China and of Japan were considerably more advanced in this respect. And yet, by 1600 the Europeans had come to use maps for a huge variety of tasks, and were far ahead of the rest of the world in their appreciation of the power and use of cartography. The Mapmakers' Quest seeks to understand this development - not only to tease out the strands of thought and practice which led to the use of maps, but also to assess the ways in which such use affected European societies and economies. Taking as a starting point the question of why there were so few maps in Europe in 1400 and so many by 1650, the book explores the reasons for this and its implications for European history. It examines, inter al, how mapping and military technology advanced in tandem, how modern states' territories were mapped and borders drawn up, the role of maps in shaping the urban environment, and cartography's links to the new sciences.

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9780192100535

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Europeans weren't keen on maps 600 years ago. They thought them too complicated by half, not to say unnecessary. After all, what were the stars for if not to show how to get from one place to another? The Chinese and Japanese, on the other hand, were very much into cartography and for a while it seemed that they would be the people to make great geographical discoveries. Yet by 1650 Europe had taken to maps in a big way, dwarfing the achievements of everyone else, and so it is Columbus, Raleigh and Magellan who got their names into the history books. The events that brought about this astonishing change are what US cartographer and historian David Buisseret sets out to study. His book is as much a tale of discovery - an opening up of the world - as it is a history of map-making, but as he points out you can't really have one without the other. The implications for Europe of what began as a furtive hobby were immense. In 1400 cartography was a pastime not to be spoken of in polite company, but ultimately it allowed the Western world to chart its way to the moon, Mars and beyond. Buisseret shows in engaging style how nations learned from each other's trials and errors, and how little-known personalities came to make possible the most monumental leaps of understanding. The illustrations of early maps, with all their flaws and wrong assumptions, are especially revealing. Many a mariner must have lost his way by relying on them. Later maps mirror the growing maturity and confidence of Europeans as explorers, and they also reveal what impact cartography had on military exploits and on national economies. It seems that human progress has for more than half a millennium been dependent upon maps - we certainly wouldn't have got far without them. Buisseret captures the pioneering spirit in an admirable way. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

David Buisseret is Professor of the History of Cartography at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is a former director of the Center for Cartography at the University of Chicago. His books include From Sea Charts to Satellite Images: Interpreting North American History Through Maps.

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